1. Technical Field
The present invention relates to pest control devices. In particular, it relates to reusable bait stations for indoor or outdoor use and which are suitable for solid or liquid insect baits.
2. Background Art
The treatment of pest problems has produced a number of devices that are designed to control insect pests. Several approaches have been taken in the design of these devices. These approaches include traps to catch the pest and retain the pest within the trap, and bait stations which are designed to provide a feeding station that contains pesticides which the pest consumes and/or carries back to the colony. With the bait station, the pest exits the feeding station and dies elsewhere.
Trap devices can be based on adhesive traps which contain a scent lure. An insect is attracted by the scent, enters the trap, and becomes stuck on the adhesive and dies. Another form of trap uses light to catch flying insects. With this type of trap, the insect is attracted to the light and flies toward it. In order to reach the light, it must fly through an electrified field which kills it. The common feature of traps is that the insect is killed at the trap. A disadvantage associated with this type of device is that numerous dead insects accumulate which must be disposed of by the user.
Bait stations differ from trap devices in that the insect is not killed at the bait station. Instead, bait which is poisoned with pesticide is provided for consumption by the insect. The insect enters the bait station, devours the bait, exits the bait station, and dies elsewhere. Bait stations of this type can have solid or liquid bait. Bait stations do not result in accumulation of dead insects at the bait station which was a problem created by the traps discussed above. An advantage that a bait station has over a trap is that when the insect leaves the bait station, it returns to its nest where it can transfer food to other members of the colony who also die from the pesticide they ingest. Several insects may eventually be killed due to the bait brought back to the colony by a single insect. As a result, bait stations may be more effective than trap devices due to their ability to kill insects which have never entered the bait station.
A drawback associated with bait stations is that they are typically self-contained disposable devices. As a result, they tend to be more expensive since the entire device must be replaced whenever the bait is consumed or no longer effective. The effectiveness of bait can be reduced due to premature drying caused by exposure to the environment. Due to this, the use of bait is more expensive than it needs to be. It would be desirable to have a self-contained reusable bait station that could be easily refilled when necessary and which reduces dessication of the bait.
Bait stations are typically designed for either indoor or outdoor use. The indoor bait stations are normally designed to be small so that they can be placed in tight areas such as the space under counters, furniture, etc. Outdoor bait stations, on the other hand, are as not as constrained by space requirements and therefore have more flexibility in terms of their size and shape. Due to the packaging requirements for indoor bait stations, they typically are not suitable for use outdoors. It would be desirable to have a liquid bait station which is suitable for both indoor and outdoor use and which could be refilled when necessary.
In addition, most bait stations are designed for either solid or liquid bait. While solid bait stations can be prepackaged, a prepackaged liquid bait station would be difficult to handle without spilling the bait. As a result, the user that wants to use both liquid and solid bait would be required to have two types of bait stations. It would be desirable to have a bait station which was suitable for either solid or liquid bait. The bait could then be selected by the user to target a particular species of insect.
Another problem associated with a liquid bait station is that when exposed to the environment, the liquid bait may dry out or evaporate prematurely. This creates unnecessary work and expense for the user, and more importantly, it reduces the effectiveness of the bait station. It would be desirable to have a liquid bait station that protects the liquid bait from the environment such that evaporation or drying out of the liquid bait would be reduced or slowed. In addition, it would also be desirable to have a bait station that protects the bait from contamination or dilution by environmental factors.
While addressing the basic desirability of using bait stations, the prior art has failed to provide a reusable bait station which is inexpensive to manufacture, which has a minimum number of components, which allows easy refilling, which can be used with solid or liquid bait, which reduces or slows evaporation and drying out of the liquid bait, and which can be used indoors or outdoors.
The present invention solves the foregoing problems by providing a compact reusable bait station that can be used for either solid or liquid bait. The bait station has an outer wall that defines a central chamber that contains bait. The chamber, when closed, is sealed such that when liquid bait is inserted into the chamber, the liquid is prevented from flowing out. The chamber has limited access from the outside to reduce evaporation, drying out, or contamination of the liquid bait by preventing unnecessary exposure to the environment. The access to the outside is limited to access ports that are sized to allow access by an insect, but nothing larger. The access port is positioned above the level of the liquid bait to prevent leakage. The bait station is fabricated from reusable material and may be opened for cleaning. Different configurations, such as triangular, rectangular, or tubular chambers may be used. Alternative embodiments provide ground attachment spikes which may be an integral part of the bait station or a removable attachment.